


A Bad Influence

by Dearly_Divided



Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Female Bilbo Baggins, Female Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield, Fili and Kili are sweet and adorable and also assholes, Fluff and Angst, Humor, Introspection, Jealous Thorin, Misunderstandings, Oblivious Bilbo, Sad Bilbo, Thorin and Bilbo have a talk, Thorin is not great at feelings, Thorin's kind of an asshole, and Bilbo calls him on it, and everyone but Bilbo can see it, but he has them bad, dwarven courting, fem!Bilbo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2019-03-30 10:01:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13949208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dearly_Divided/pseuds/Dearly_Divided
Summary: “I see you were not eaten by any wolves or giant spiders last night, then,” she murmured, keeping her voice low as to not wake the still sleeping dwarves.Thorin glanced down at her with a smirk that made Bilbo’s stomach do a little flip. “Are you disappointed, Miss Baggins?” he asked.“Only a little.”In which a very smitten Thorin goes about showing his feelings to a certain fiery hobbit the wrong way, Bilbo gets the wrong idea and everyone suffers for it!





	A Bad Influence

Bilbo was confused.

When she had set out with the thirteen dwarves she was under no assumptions that she was welcome or indeed wanted at all, at least not after they had found out she was a woman, and not a burglar. Thorin, and certainly Dwalin had made themselves crystal clear with their unhappiness in her tagging along, but she had signed the contract and there was little they could do to stop her. They may have kept their distance, spoke in Khuzdul to purposefully keep her out and sent glowering stares at her every time she did something foolish (an occurrence that wasn’t quiet as rare as she might like) and treated her with a general air of suspicion and distrust but it was nothing she couldn’t deal with.

Still, after the incident with the trolls, and then the mishap with the goblins and the subsequent attack from the orcs Bilbo had begun to feel accepted as part of the company. Fili and Kili often took their meals with her, she talked at length with Ori, Dori and Nori about all kinds of things, from music to languages and even Dwarven history. Bofur had become a close friend and confidant, Oin had taught her about Dwarven healing, she and Bombur had reminisced about the joys of food, and the less than stellar quality of it upon their journey. Balin had always been sweet, if not a little sad, and she’d learned about Gloin’s family, particularly about his son, Gimli (A promising young lad, if Gloin did say so himself) and while she hadn’t spoken much to Bifur, he seemed less confused by her presence than previously, which she counted as a win. Even Dwalin, though he’d probably rather stab himself than admit it, seemed to have earned a grudging respect for her, especially after she had saved them all from the wargs.

Thorin had softened towards her the most, even going so far as to apologise for his pig-headedness!

_I've never been so wrong in all my life._ If she could she would engrave those words into the mantle place above her bed back home. Thorin Oakenshield, King Under the Mountain, his Royal Broodiness, admitting he was wrong!

And then he’d hugged her. She still blushed at the memory of the comforting warmth and feel of her body cocooned in his. He’d smelled like smoke and musk, and strangely enough it had reminded Bilbo of her home, Bag End. Bilbo had never had much luck with hobbit men, but there was something about the Durin Dwarves, they were far too handsome for their own good!

The point was that Bilbo finally felt as though she belonged amongst the dwarves, that she was accepted and maybe even liked.

Until now, at least.

Thorin was in a foul mood, he had been ever since they had left Beorn’s.

It had come from seemingly nowhere, one moment she was sitting on the edge of camp laughing along with Bofur and Nori when Thorin had simply stormed over and snarled at them for lazing about when there was ‘work to be done!’. She’d shared a look with Bofur but nevertheless they’d picked themselves up and went back to ‘work’, however, considering that the fires were lit, the tents were up and dinner was well on it’s way to being done, Bilbo wasn’t quite sure what ‘work’ there was to do. She chose to wander and collect kindling for the fires, under the watchful eye of Dwalin, of course.

“Don’t want you wandering off and getting yourself killed,” he’d grumbled when she asked. She’d smiled prettily at him in response.

Thorin’s bad mood had not improved over the following days. It seemed there was no end to the list of things that made him irritated, but most of them seemed to surround her.

Whenever she laughed too loud he would snap at her, if she was talking too much he would growl at her for distracting the company, and heaven forbid she do anything remotely feminine, like wearing her hair down or singing sweetly because all that rewarded her was a fierce glare.

Of course, Bilbo got off lightly compared to the dwarves. Thorin cursed, glowered and outright threatened all of them over the course of a few days, over the tiniest, most insignificant things. Slowly, under the weight of Thorin’s black mood, the overall mood of the company soured. It seemed that Thorin wished the entire company to be miserable, Bilbo most of all.

Apparently she was deemed a bad influence on the company, for whenever she drew into quiet conversation with any of the dwarves Thorin was quick to call her to the front of the company, to walk next to him, to make sure, as he put it, that “You don’t fall behind and get lost.” It didn’t slip past her attention that this only occurred when she was mid conversation with the other dwarves.

She also decided against reminding him that he was the one with the terrible sense of direction, Mr. I Get Lost On My Way To The Shire!

It was a shame, because she really enjoyed her time with the dwarves, when they weren’t battling for their very lives. Fili and Kili loved to make her laugh and blush, and Ori was so sweet and shy, he had the most insightful comments. Bofur gave the best hugs, as she’d found out, but Nori never failed to make her smile with his thrilling stories.

It seemed that none of the dwarves wished to anger Thorin so they simply tried their best to avoid her whenever Thorin seemed put out, and it hurt! They were… well they were her friends, and Thorin had no right to be angry at her for making friends!

Meal times had become… strange, to say the least. It had become routine now for Bilbo to sit between Fili and Kili to eat, sometimes sitting with the others, other times just the three of them.

So when Thorin plopped himself down beside her (in the seat that Fili was just about to take) to eat dinner one evening she was surprised to say the least. Fili and Kili on the other hand just shared a knowing (if not exasperated look) as Fili moved to sit on the other side of Thorin.

Silence. Bilbo had no idea what to say, not wanting to irritate Thorin any more than necessary. Thorin, taciturn dwarf that he was, felt no need to start a conversation and Fili and Kili seemed either too uncomfortable or too amused to speak at all. So they sat and ate their meal with naught but a word between them.

The following evening, considering the palpable tension between them the previous night, Bilbo had expected that things would return to normal and that she Fili and Kili would eat on one side of the camp and Thorin would eat wherever else he pleased.

She was wrong. 

Once again Thorin shoved his way into the seat beside her, and once again they sat in silence while Fili and Kili watched, barely able to keep themselves from laughing at her obvious discomfort.

(She was going to kick those dwarves, royalty or not.) 

He sat by her again, the following night.

And the night after that.

And the night after that. 

Bilbo wondered why on earth he seemed so hell-bent on sitting by her side every night when it suddenly occurred to her.

Thorin thought she was a bad influence on his nephews.

It made sense, she mused during the ride through the forest. He seemed to disapprove of a lot of the things she did, especially when he thought she was being ‘too friendly’ with the other dwarves. She knew how secretive dwarves were, perhaps he thought she was trying to fish for information (for what purpose she would never know). It wasn’t like she hadn’t caught him staring at her with those brooding eyes of his when he thought she wasn’t looking. He probably thought she was trying to corrupt them or some other nonsense and wanted to put a stop to it himself!

The NERVE! Was she a member of the company or not?! How many times could she save their lives before he finally accepted her?!

The following night after a particularly trying training session with Dwalin (who had seemed a might too amused at her frustration she was attempting to take out on him) Bilbo waited until Fili and Kili had grabbed their dinner from Bombur and had taken a seat on the far side of camp before she went to collect her own. Bombur dished her supper out with a soft smile and a wink and with a determined set to her shoulders Bilbo walked down to the other side of the camp, alone, and sat promptly down with her back to the others.

Doing her best to ignore the thirteen pairs of eyes trained on her back she began to eat. She also tried not to let the particularly hurt and confused glances from the dwarven princes shake her resolve. If Thorin didn’t want her around him or his family or his company, fine, she was hired as a burglar and nothing more. Not that it didn’t make her mad, not that it didn’t hurt, but she wasn’t going to engage in yet another battle of the wills with Thorin thick-headed Oakenshield. There was no point going to war and making everyone even more miserable than they needed to be.

She had only just swallowed her second mouthful when she heard the heavy boots of a dwarf approaching from behind. She refrained (just barely) from rolling her eyes as Thorin stepped over her log and sat down beside her.

“May I help you, your majesty?” she asked, her voice dripping with thinly veiled hostility.

He frowned at her, and Bilbo was reminded once again of the dangers of looking directly into those soulful, blue eyes of his. Her heart skipped a beat. Focus, Bilbo!

“Have I done something to offend you, Miss Baggins?” he asked.

Bilbo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Instead, she set down her bowl and turned to face him, face blazing with all the pent up anger and hurt she was feeling. “Offend me? _Offend_ me! Do you delight in causing me misery, Master Dwarf?” she snapped. 

She might as well have sprouted another head for the bewildered look Thorin was giving her. He opened his mouth to respond but she cut him off with a hand, this was her time to talk, not his!

“I understand you had your reservations about me joining the company, really I do. I am a simple hobbit, a female and not a warrior or let’s face it, a burglar, by any stretch of imagination. I don’t know which of these offends you more, but I think I have more than proved my worth to this company and to yourself! I had thought that after the incident with Azog and the Eagles that maybe we could have moved past this unpleasantness but apparently not!” she snarled, waving her arms around and knocking her bowl off the log in her irritation.

Thorin gaped at her wordlessly, and she was well aware that every single dwarf in the company was now watching them, but Bilbo could not find it in herself to care, much less stop. “I do not understand why you find my presence so detestable or why the idea of my friendship to the other dwarves on this journey, particularly your nephews, so utterly reprehensible! However, as the leader of this company I have done my utmost to keep you happy by distancing myself from everyone else here as you so clearly want! I have stopped taking my meals with Fili and Kili and detached myself as best I can from the remainder to save us all from your disapproval! Short of removing myself entirely from the company I do not know what else I can do to please you! So please, Thorin, please tell me what other problem you could possibly have with me as I sit here alone trying to enjoy my tea!”

Bilbo was panting at the end of her rant, and the look on Thorin’s face would have been priceless had she not been so upset.

“I could never hate you, Miss Baggins, nor do I take issue with the strength of the bonds you have formed with this company. I am sorry you feel that way, truly.” He cleared his throat with an uncomfortable look so out of place on the face of the proud king. “Please excuse me,” he mumbled, standing up abruptly which in turn upset his bowl of dinner, upending it onto the grass beneath them. Thorin seemed not to notice as he stared down at Bilbo looking as though her very presence was causing him physical pain. “I… you-no. You’re… I-I have to go.” And with that he stalked away from the camp, disappearing into the darkness of the forest.

What… What just happened? 

Should she go after him? It was well after dark, and king or not it wasn’t safe for any of them to be wandering alone, least of all here. Hesitantly she stood up, just as a hand came to rest on her shoulder. She turned to find Balin gazing down at her with an unreadable expression. It wasn’t quite sad, he looked… weary, yet there was the gentle kindness she had come to associate with him there as well.

“Don’t mind him, lassie. He has never been the best with words, or emotions for that matter.”

Bilbo glanced over her shoulder to where Thorin had walked off and saw Dwalin following off after him. “But…"

“He will be back. He just needs some time.” 

Bilbo’s brow furrowed, “To do what?”

“You were not what he expected, Miss Baggins. He has acted poorly as of late, but he values you more than you know. I expect when he returns he will wish to speak with you and apologise,” he said, and then he smiled. “Of course by no means does that mean I expect you to go easy on him. You are perhaps the only creature in middle earth who keeps him on his toes,” he said with a chortling laugh that reminded Bilbo suddenly of her Grandfather back in the Shire.

Then he too left, leaving Bilbo alone with her thoughts.

Confound these dwarves! Would it kill them to just say what they meant?!

Though she pretended not to, Bilbo kept an eye out for Thorin’s return until the embers of the fire burned low and she slowly drifted off to sleep against the tree trunk closest to the centre of the camp.

When she awoke early the following morning she found herself tucked into her bedroll, with an extra blanket covering her. She also found that Thorin had returned, and was currently sitting beside her, smoking thoughtfully on his pipe.

He did not appear to have realised she was awake, and Bilbo took the rare opportunity to study him. He really was beautiful; she had known that from the moment she first met him back in Bag end. A handsome face, strong jaw and piercing eyes that mesmerised her every time she found herself caught in them. Hobbit men had softer features, no beards and certainly not the amount of hair that dwarves seemed to pride themselves on. In her youth she had quite fancied a few Hobbit gentlemen with soft curling hair and round, soft faces. Yet as she studied the intricate braiding of Thorin’s hair and beard she found that it too was beautiful in its own right.

“I see you were not eaten by any wolves or giant spiders last night, then,” she murmured, keeping her voice low as to not wake the still sleeping dwarves.

Thorin glanced down at her with a smirk that made Bilbo’s stomach do a little flip. “Are you disappointed, Miss Baggins?” he asked. 

She had not forgotten her anger from the previous night, but she was also not one to hold grudges and the way Thorin was looking at her and the light, easy joking air about him made her reluctant to squash it too quickly. 

“Only a little.”

Thorin smiled at that and then glanced around at the sleeping dwarves before returning his attention to Bilbo. “Would you mind taking a walk with me, Miss Baggins?”

Bilbo nodded, “Yes, of course. Just give me one minute to get ready.” 

Five minutes later Thorin was leading her away from camp. He was silent for most of the walk and Bilbo was content to allow him that. When they reached a little clearing and he stopped she crossed her arms and gave him a pointed look.

“Go on, then." 

Thorin cleared his throat and reached out his hands out towards her in invitation, Bilbo tentatively put her hands in his and was immediately surprised by how warm they were.

“Dwarven women are very rare, there is perhaps one female dwarf born to every six males,” he began.

Not exactly where Bilbo thought he was going to start, but she was interested to see where he was going with it so she smiled encouragingly and kept silent.

“Because of this dwarven women are treated with the utmost respect and reverence. To mistreat a dwarrowdam, to harm one in any way, can be punishable by exile or even death. It is arguably the greatest dishonour in our culture. Bilbo,” he said, squeezing her hands, “You are unlike anyone I have ever met. You are brave and headstrong and kind and foolish and infuriating and wonderful and you make me feel half mad sometimes! I have never met anyone who forms such strong bonds so quickly. You have bewitched my company and indeed myself… and yet I have mistreated you, made you feel like an outsider.”

Suddenly Bilbo didn’t feel like smiling any more.

“It was not my intention, never my intention. You are a truly remarkable hobbit, Bilbo. You make me feel…” He seemed to be struggling to find the words and once again Bilbo had to fight the urge to break her silence. He listened to her last night, the least she owed him was to do the same. “I have tried everything in my power to resist, but I find myself unable and unwilling to – no. I’m not doing this right.” He took a deep breath to steady himself before continuing. “There is no excuse for my behaviour. If you were a dwarf, you would be well within your rights to demand my beard and then call for my banishment, and I would let you. I am almost 200 years old, and I have never once felt towards another the way I feel about you.”

Bilbo’s heart skipped a beat.

“Because of this I have acted a jealous fool. My attempts to keep you close have backfired spectacularly and isolated you from your friends and more so from myself. I would understand if you wished to never speak to my again, however for the sake of my sanity I must beg for your forgiveness,” he said, kneeling on the grass before her. 

His eyes, open and honest searched her face for any sign of an answer so she fought to keep her face as impassive as she could. She thought back to his strange behaviour the past few weeks, the way he had demanded she ride by his side, his insistent pushing for Dwalin to train and watch her, the furtive glances he gave her when she sat with his nephews to eat dinner, the way his irritation seemed to build whenever she gave physical affection to another dwarf, and the way it cooled when she was by his side instead. She had thought he hated, she had assumed… well, it seemed the only reasonable explanation. She… she was just a hobbit, a particularly unremarkable hobbit at that, and he was the heir to the throne of Erebor. It didn’t make any sense, and yet there they were.

“You… you like me?” she asked, unable to think of anything better to say.

Thorin shook his great head, “No, I do not like you, Miss Baggins. I find myself utterly and inescapably in love with you, though I have done a poor job of showing it.”

Oh.

Right.  

“There is no other, there will never be another. You could curse and spit upon me, break our contract and leave and never speak to my kin or I again and I would still love you until the day I die,” he said.

Bilbo’s head was still spinning and she couldn’t think straight, not with the way Thorin was staring at her.

“In the shire we give flowers when we wish to court someone,” she murmured for lack of anything better. She decided against mentioning that they also usually refrained from insulting and childish displays towards their intended.

Thorin almost laughed at that, “We present gifts to those we wish to court. If the gifts are accepted, we each craft a bead to give to the other to braid into their hair to show our intentions. It is a formality really; dwarves do not enter courtship lightly. I have nothing to give you yet, nothing worthy of you, at least. When we reclaim Erebor, and if you can stand to be in my presence after my horrible behaviour, I intend to court you properly, Miss Baggins.”

Bilbo blushed, unable to help herself, but quickly schooled her features back into a neutral expression. “And if I choose not to forgive you?” she asked.

“You would be well within your rights to do so. In that case I would respect your decision, offer you my beard and spend the rest of our days together attempting to make amends in any way I can.”

“You were awful to me, not to mention the rest of the company,” she said in a level voice, her usually kind eye piercing and unwavering. 

Thorin had the decency to drop his gaze, “I know.”

Thorin, the mighty king of Erebor, on his knees, head bowed before her as he held her hands in his. Bilbo never thought she’d see the proud king bow for anyone, least of all her.

“I forgive you,” she whispered.

Thorin’s head whipped up in surprise. Slowly a smile crept across his face, lighting it up most beautifully. Bilbo wanted to capture the moment forever, he had never looked as remarkable as he did in that moment. Before she could stop him Thorin leant forward and pressed a chaste kiss against the back of her hand, lingering a touch longer than needed before releasing them.

“I do not deserve you,” he murmured, moving to stand back up, but Bilbo’s hand on his shoulder brought him up short. She wasn’t _quite_ done with him.

“I am not yours yet, Thorin Oakenshield. You have a long way to go, and you haven’t even presented me with any courting gifts yet,” she tutted, her green eyes sparkling with mischievous delight.

Thorin huffed out a laugh and stood up. Bilbo, taking this as a sign that they should return to camp before anyone noticed they were gone went to turn around and walk back through the forest. However, before she could even take a step Thorin grabbed her arm and pulled her back around to face him.

 “I’m not finished with you yet, Miss Baggins,” he rumbled and with a devilish smile he tugged her into his arms and kissed her. Deeply. A kind of kiss that turned certain hobbits bright red and made set butterflies loose in stomachs. 

By the time he pulled away Bilbo was well and truly speechless, a fact which seemed to delight him, if the smug, smarmy smirk on his stupid face was anything to go by.

“I look forward to it, Miss Baggins,” was all he said as he sauntered past her, back to camp leaving a dumbstruck Bilbo behind him.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed, feel free to leave some Kudos or comments if you did! :)


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